Simulated beanstalk game



Feb. 20, 1968 M. GLASS ET AL 3,369,811

SIMULATED BEANSTALK GAME Filed June 4, 1965 6 jeans 072v United StatesPatent 3,369,811 SIMULATED BEANSTALK GAME Marvin I. Glass, Chicago, andHans E. Jernstrom, Northbrook, Ill., assignors to Marvin Glass &Associates, Chicago, 111., a partnership Filed June 4, 1965, Ser. No.461,400 4 Claims. (Cl. 273135) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLGSURE A gameincluding a playing base in the form of a hollow column simulating abeanstalk, a series of vertically spaced-apart openings in the side ofthe column and having various cross-sections, a plurality of markerseach with a stem portion complementary to one or more of the openings inthe column, a marker dispensing tray, means defining a transverseopening in the lower portion of the column for slidably receiving thetray, means defining an additional opening in said column above thetray-receiving opening to permit entry therein of a marker, indicatingmeans representing a giant at the top of the column and movable betweena position within the column and an exposed position above the column,and spring biased latch means for retaining the indicating means withinthe column and responsive to the insertion of a marker stem in apredetermined opening in the column to release said latch means and movethe indicating means to its exposed position.

The present invention relates to games, and particularly to a game inwhich the fortunes of the players are determined largely by chance andin which the several operations are of such a nature as to be ofparticular interest to younger players. The game is based on the fairystory of Jack and the Beanstalk, with the game starting with thebeanstalk fully grown. A column is provided simulating the beanstalk,with the column being much enlarged at the top to simulate a cloudhaving a castle floating thereon, as set forth in the story.

Within the castle but hidden from view is a giant, and in playing thegame each player may take a token in the form of a leaf from a selectingand dispensing tray which slides out of the base of the beanstalk andattempt to fit the stem thereof in the lowermost of a series of holes inthe stalk. If the stem fits he may replace the tray and with it withdrawanother token or leaf. If this one fits the next hole the player isentitled to still another turn, and so on. If the stem does not fit thehole, the player returns the leaf to the interior of the stalk through asuitable opening above the dispensing tray and his opponent then has aturn. A special leaf is provided which will fit all the holes, andanother which will not fit any of the holes. Whichever player reachesthe topmost hole first and inserts the proper leaf will find that hisleaf will release the giant, who will pop up out of the castle into fullview. This player wins the game.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a game of thisnature which, as stated, will involve chance and a certain amount ofskill in fitting the leaves into the holes, and which will thereforeappeal to players of a relatively early'age.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational side view, partly in axial section, of asimulated beanstalk illustrating the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the beanstalk with amodified form of latch mechanism; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

In the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows a column which may be made of anysuitable material, but which lends itself particularly to fabricationfrom one or another of well-known plastic materials. Column 10 may bemolded in any desired form, but in the present instance is in the formof a beanstalk growing up through a cloud. Column 10 has a base portion12, which will be further described,

and is expanded at the top into a form simulating a cloud 14. At the topof the cloud, in accord with the story, is a castle 16. Within castle 16is a partial figure of a giant 18, and in base portion 12 is a storagespace 20 for holding in readiness a stack of tokens 22, which aredispensed to the players by a slidable tray 24.

Storage space 20 is preferably in the form of a generally cylindricalspace or column, and accommodates the individual tokens in the form ofleaves, as indicated at 26, each having a stern portion, as indicated atand 32, respectively, with the various stems having different crosssections of circular, square or other rectangular form, triangular,etc., configuration. Chamber 20 is of such a size and shape that theleaves 26, when placed therein at random, will fall flat upon each otherin an upwardly directed stack, so that they may be removed from thebottom of the stack one by one, as will appear.

For this purpose tray 24 is slidable back and forth in a slot 34 in baseportion 12, and the tray has a pair of recesses 36 and 38, each of asize corresponding substantially with the cross section of storagechamber 20 and of a depth substantially that of the thickness of one ofthe tokens 26. When tray 24 is centered with column 10 the lowermosttoken will be supported on an elevated portion 40 intermediate therecesses 36 and 38, with the other tokens resting on top of it. If tray24 is slid out to one side, the lowermost token drops into one of therecesses and a reverse movement of the tray will expose such token.Similarly, the player on the other side of the beanstalk 10 may select atoken. In this manner, a supply of tokens is kept on hand and dispensedto the players in a random manner as the game progresses. Tokens areplaced in chamber 20 through slots 42 and 44 formed in the sides ofcolumn 10.

Column 10 provides a plurality of holes, as indicated for example at 46and 48, of a variety of shapes or cross sections distributed in anupwardly spiraling row on the outer wall of column 10, and the stems onthe leaves in stack 22 are preferably of differing cross sections, asstated, each being complementary to one or more of the holes. Most ofthe leaves are preferably green in color, but one is gold color and,according to the rules of the game, may be fitted in any hole and,therefore, entitles the player to another turn. Another leaf is black.This leaf may have a stern that is too big or otherwise shaped so thatit cannot be inserted in any hole in column 10. A player drawing thisleaf loses his turn to insert a leaf and must wait for his opponent totake a turn.

Giant 18 consists of a body portion 49, as seen in FIGURE 1, ofgenerally round configuration, freely slidable in a tubular guide 50formed as a part of castle 16. A head 52- on the body portion isentirely contained in guide 50 so as not to be visible. Giant 18includes a downwardly directed extension or shaft 54, which extendslengthwise into column 10 and has an anchorage 56 to which is attachedthe lower end of a spring 58. Anchorage 56 is preferably in the form ofa collar which, while permitting substantial lateral or side swinging ofextension 54, will eventually contact the inside of column 10 so as tolimit the swinging in any direction. The upper end of spring 58 ishooked or otherwise attached to lug 59 fixed within column .10 aboveanchorage 56.

Body portion 49 has a slot or groove 60 extending longitudinallythereof, and a rib or key 62 fixed on the interior of guide 50 is freelyslida'ble in groove 60 so that giant 18, while free to slide'up and downin guide 59, cannot twist or turn in the guide so as to becomemisaligned with certain mechanism to be described. He is also enoughsmaller than guide 50 to be able to tilt a limited amount. It will beapparent from the above that giant 18 may be raised by the action ofspring 58 so that head 52 will come into view above castle 16.

The giant 18 has the generally cruciform shaped extension 54, and adetent 64, preferably in the form of a collar encircling shaft portion54 which is normally engaged beneath a ledge or pawl 66 fixed withincolumn 10. Collar 64 is located between body portion 49 and extension54-, so as to be located in the region below cloud 14. The pull ofspring 58 tends to pull collar 64 to the right, as seen in FIGURE 1, soas to tilt giant 18 in a counterclockwise direction sufiiciently tomaintain collar 64 engaged beneath ledge 66, thus maintaining giant 18out of sight within castle 16.

When a player has succeeded in progressively filling all the holes onthe path along the column up to the last hole 68, he is then in aposition to draw the complementary leaf and insert the stem in hole 68,whereupon the leaf stem, as more particularly shown in FIGURE 2, willcontact collar 64 and shift it toward the left. With this movement thecollar 64 will escape from beneath ledge 66 and, under the impetus ofspring 58, the giant will pop up and appear over the castle as seen inFIG- URE 1. It is contemplated that hole 63 will pass entirely throughcolumn 10 so that a leaf may be inserted from either side. The winnermay therefore insert his leaf in the hole 68 on either side if heacquires the right to do so.

In order to add further interest to the game, there is also provided asoundmaker which operates with the upward motion of the giant. Thesoundmaker includes a flexible, metal leaf spring or vibratory reed 70,which is fixed at one end to the inside wall of column 10 and has a freeend portion in position for engagement by a serrated edge or toothedrack 72 formed on extension 54. Consequently, as the giant pops up underthe biasing action of spring 58, the edge 72 will repeatedly strike reed70 and effect a sound.

A modified form of latch mechanism for holding giant 18 in a concealedposition is shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. In this embodiment the column 74has a ledge 76 retaining a collar 78 in a manner similar to thatpreviously described with respect to collar 64 in FIGURES 1-3. However,in this instance a cam member 80 is slidable in a passageway formed inthe wall of column 74 beneath ledge 76. Cam 80 is cut away to fit aboutcollar 78 and provides an arcuate portion 84 which will contact andforce collar 78 to the left as seen in FIGURE 5 and release collar 78from beneath ledge 76 and allow the attached giant to appear, as in thecase of the FIGURE 1 embodiment. Cam 80 has a recess 86 extending alongone side thereof and matching a similar recess 88 formed in the side ofthe passageway. A centering spring 9t) is compressed partly in recess 86and partly in recess 88, so that it is compressed more whenever cammember 80 is displaced from its central position. When the displacingforce is removed, spring 90 promptly returns cam 80 to its centralposition as seen in FIGURE 5. As will be apparent, a leaf may beinserted at either end of cam 89 to move the same in either direction.Either movement of cam 80 will dislodge collar 78 and cause the attachedgiant to appear.

In operation the game is played by two persons who sit opposite eachother and take turns pulling tray 24. Each pull will bring forth a leafin recess 36 or 38. The player takes the leaf and tries to fit it intothe lowermost hole. If the leaf fits into the hole, he gets another turnand returns the tray and pulls it out again, thereby obtaining anotherleaf. If the leaf does not fit, he must return the leaf through one ofthe slots 42 and 44. There is one gold leaf which fits any hole, and oneblack leaf which does not fit any hole or in any event causes the playerto lose his turn to insert a leaf in the beanstalk. As stated, the stemsof the leaves are of different contours or cross sections, and will fitonly in their proper holes. When either player has inserted a leaf inhole 68, he wins the game, and the giant 18 awakens with a sound andappears above the castle 16.

Although shown and described with respect to particular apparatus, itwill be apparent that various modifications might be made withoutdeparting from the principles of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A game comprising a three-dimensional playing base in the form of acolumn having a hollow interior portion, means defining a series ofvertically spaced apart openings in said column with the openings havinga plurality of different cross sections, a plurality of markers eachincluding a stem portion having a cross section complementary to one ormore of said openings in said column, a marker dispensing tray adaptedto receive one of said markers, means in the lower portion of saidcolumn defining a transverse opening and guideway therethrough forslidably receiving said tray, said transverse opening being incommunication with the interior of said column, and means defining anadditional opening in said column at a position above said transverseopening to permit passage of a marker into the interior of said column,whereby a plurality of said markers can be stacked within said columnand be removed therefrom one at a time by sliding movement of said tray.

2. A game comprising a three-dimensional playing base in the form of acolumn having a hollow interior portion, means defining a series ofvertically spaced apart openings in said column with the openings havinga plurality of different cross sections, a plurality of markers eachincluding a stem portion having a cross section complementary to one ormore of said openings in said column, a marker dispensing tray includinga depressed portion adapted to receive one of said markers, means in thelower portion of said column defining a transverse opening and guidewaytherethrough for slidably receiving said tray, said transverse openingbeing in communication with the interior of said column, and meansdefining an additional opening in said column at a position above saidtransverse opening to permit passage of a marker into the interior ofsaid column, whereby a plurality of said markers can be stacked withinsaid column with the lowermost marker positioned in said depressedportion of said tray, and whereby the transverse movement of said trayis effective to expose said lowermost marker on said depressed portionwhile a portion of the tray adjacent said depressed portion supports theremainder of the stack.

3. A game comprising a three-dimensional playing base in the form of acolumn having a hollow interior portion, means defining a series ofvertically spaced apart openings in said column with the openings havinga plurality of different cross sections, a plurality of markers eachincluding a stem portion having a cross section complementary to one ormore of said openings in said column, a marker dispensing tray adaptedto receive one of said markers, means in the lower portion of saidcolumn defining a transverse opening and guideway therethrough forslidably receiving said tray, means defining an additional opening insaid column at a position above said transverse opening to permitpassage of the markers into the interior of said column to form a stacktherein with the lowermost marker supported on said dispensing tray, anindicating means positioned at the top of said column and movablebetween a concealed position within the column and an exposed positionabove the column, means for biasing said indicating means toward itsexposed position, and latch means for releasably retaining saidindicating means in its concealed position, said latch means being in aposition for engagement by the stem of a marker when inserted in aselected one of said openings to permit said biasing means to move saidindicating means to its exposed position.

4. A game comprising a three-dimensional playing base in the form of acolumn having a hollow interior portion, means defining a series ofvertically spaced apart openings in said column, a plurality of markerseach including a stem portion adapted to be fitted in said openings insaid column, a marker dispensing tray adapted to receive one of saidmarkers, means in the lower portion of said column defining a transverseopening and guideway therethrough for slidably receiving said tray,means defining an additional opening in said column at a position abovesaid transverse opening to permit passage of the markers into theinterior of said column to form a stack therein with the lowermostmarker supported on said dispensing tray, an indicating means positionedat the top of said column and vertically movable between a concealedposition within the column and an exposed position above the column,means for biasing said indicating means upwardly toward its exposedposition, and latch means for releasably retaining said indicating meansin its concealed position, said latch means being in a position forengagement by the stem of a marker when inserted in a selected one ofsaid openings to permit said biasing means to move said indicating meansto its exposed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,494,876 5/1924 Zander 2731352,244,921 6/1941 Roth 273136 X 3,115,345 12/1963 Temple et a1. 2731343,201,129 8/1965 McFarland et a1. 273--134 3,235,263 2/1966 Smith 2731 XFOREIGN PATENTS 12,329 1915 Great Britain. 143,032 5/ 1920 GreatBritain.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner

